Successful Nonprofits Podcast: Preparing for Your Capital Campaign

I do! And I was honored when Dolph Goldenburg invited me to speak on his wonderful Successful Nonprofits Podcast.

We talked about preparing for a capital campaign; including setting up a challenging but achievable goal, the ins and outs of drafting a case for support (plus the best way to face the committee review), why that list of your top 30 donors is vital, the number of prospects you need at each gift level, and much more.

I invite you to listen to the episode below in its entirety, or follow the included time-stamped guide to skip to the topics that interest you most.

(10:30) I talk about the biggest mistake I made when I was a capital campaign consultant.

(10:37) Thomas Jefferson probably developed the most famous case for support in history, known as the Declaration of Independence. Why is the Declaration of Independence a great example for a case for support?

(14:40) When a committee is involved in writing, you get a monster. For example, if they were designing an elephant, they would create an elephant that they would hope to swim and fly and climb trees. How do you keep that from happening in the committee of those who are writing your case for support?

(19:43) “Please note that I won’t be responding to each suggestion via email but using them to facilitate a great conversation in our August 21st meeting.” That’s Dolph’s favorite quote from my book and he explains why. (Hint: It has to do with the dreaded reply-all.)

(21:28) I talk about what you’re trying to do when you pull a group together to discuss the case of support draft, and how to set up a group process for the review to help them behave how you want them to behave. You have to manage these meetings carefully!

(22:45) I share my special tip for how to run a draft review meeting—all you need is index cards.

(26:04) How do you put together your top 30 donor list and why is it important to do so?

(27:27) In order to understand how much money you will be able to raise, I suggest you think about fundraising in two buckets—what are they? Also learn what I prefer besides donor research.

(30:40) Though it seems like fundraising 101, my experience is that very few people understand how important gift pyramids are and how to use them. I explain why donor pyramids are the tools by which you can make decisions about almost everything in your campaign.

(33:13) About how many prospects will you need to have conversations with in order to get your top 10 gifts? I have a strong opinion about this.

(35:11) The wealthiest donors don’t only want to talk about money. Here’s what they want to talk about.

(37:23) “You want me on the plane, but it’s already taken off. I’m not going to be on the plane when it lands, if I’m not on the plane when it takes off.”— Dolph Goldenburg (We talk about what this great quote means.)

(38:10) Misconceptions about people with great resources and a secret you should know about them.

(39:49) I share what I personally do when I reach a milestone or a benchmark. What do you do?

I hope you found this podcast helpful. What are some of your favorite podcasts related to nonprofits and fundraising? If I were to be a guest on one, what would you like me to talk about most? Let me know in the comment section below, or tell me on Twitter.